Chinese restaurant located above Noodle Kingdom with access via a lift. Has vegetable dishes, stir frys, rice plates, and mock meats. Simple, pleasant decor. Re-opened following renovation, Dec 2016. Note that not all alcohol is confirmed to be vegan-friendly (wine is not vegan friendly.) Open Mon-Sun 11:00am-3:00pm, 5:00pm-10:00pm.
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L3 264 Swanston St (at Chinatown), Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 3000
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- Wheelchair accessible
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Last update on 21 Mar 2025 by oliviaac
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Added by KingKong on 27 Jan 2013
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151 Reviews
First Review by KingKong
soyboy100
Points +209
Pretty good - Edit
Very yummy and excellent service. The space is also very cozy to sit in. I quite liked the sweet and sour 'pork'. I will definitely come here again to try other things in the menu.
Read moreI am just a bit confused with the reviews saying that some things are not vegan. When I asked a lady who worked there, she told me that the menu was 100 percent vegan.
Vix333
Last time I was there about a year ago the ice-cream was dairy. We ordered it thinking it was vegan, but luckily the waitress told us - oh, by the way it's not vegan. Really hope no one has ordered it thinking it's dairy free!
Read moresoyboy100
for the icecream, I asked if it was vegan and she told me it was. I really hope it was 😭
Read moreGuest
FPB
Points +433
Always the best - Edit
We’ve been eating here for years .. travel from interstate, LOVE the food, it’s tasty, consistent, and restaurant is cosy, and staff very friendly, and always accommodating.
Read moreFeels really special to dine in a restaurant that is 100% Vegan 👍
Updated from previous review on 2024-06-15
Pros: Consistently tasty dishes , Friendly staff, So many choices
Guest
blovessummer
Points +362
Love the sweet and sour pork - Edit
Good fully vegan option in the cbd. The sweet and sour pork is my staple but have sampled a few other dishes too.
Read moreGuest
AuntAdaDoom
Points +162
Level 1 service is a nightmare but worth it - Edit
Situated over two levels, good luck if you get relegated to level 1 on a busy night. It’s freezing and the service is hilariously bad. Still, worth it for good cheap fresh food from an extensive menu. We are frequent flyers here.
Read moreGuest
JessMurfin
Points +477
Insane Chinese - Edit
Amazing Chinese, I had fried noodles with veggies and the portion was huge, steaming hot, heaps of flavour. Staff were lovely and really nice place to eat.
Read moreUpdated from previous review on 2024-04-08
JessMurfin
Oh whoops my bad I thought it was I’ll change what I wrote. Thank you ☺️
Read moreGuest
chatreuse
Points +4842
Some great dishes - Edit
Extensive menu (although vegan and vegetarian is not delineated at all, only realised it's not fully vegan from comments responding to other reviews). Favourites so far are the hot & spicy squid, which wasn't as spicy as the name suggests, rather a slow burn.
Read moreThe deep fried chikn w/red hot chilli was delish and thankfully not very hot.
The Shanghai fried noodles were bland.
We ordered the curry lamb with rice, but was given the more expensive curry lamb as a main, so we had to order the veg pan cake to eat with it. The curry is not as good as it used to be. Had water chestnuts in it, which does not go with curry.
Service is usually very good, although when we went one waitress seemed really annoyed with us for asking for more than one fork between the 3 of us. We weren't given water, and she was very brusque. And then they asked for a tip at the end, yeah fat chance. They don't offer a discount for cash payments, but almost always apply pressure to do so, but who even carries cash these days.
Pros: hot+spicy squid, deep fried chikn w/red hot chilli
Cons: bland Shanghai noodles, pressure customers to pay in cash
Guest
Rothkogirrl
Points +232
The best Chinese sweet and sour ever - Edit
Flavours, out of this world.
Read morePros: Food, Service , Price
Guest
EdYan
Points +3664
Hong Kong style! - Edit
This is so HK style in that from the street you have no idea there's a restaurant, then you take a lift and the lift opens straight into the restaurant. Plus of course the food is basically Cantonese and that's a good thing. We enjoyed everything we ordered from an extensive and varied menu.
Read moreNice, friendly service and the food came quickly.
Guest
Zanse
Points +74
Loads of choices - Edit
Look past the unprepossessing exterior and dodgy lift, and Gong De Lin is a gem. The service is friendly, the prices reasonable and the menu so extensive that it's genuinely difficult to choose from! The food is generally tasty and fresh. One thing I'd like to see changed is the labelling, however. While the menu assures customers that everything is vegetarian, egg and dairy are present in a few dishes, and it can be difficult to work out which ones (particularly the noodles). Otherwise, a great choice for dining out in Melbourne.
Read morePros: Huge variety
Cons: Labelling of non-vegan food could be clearer
Guest
fengmanyi
Points +584
Delicious food lots of options - Edit
Nice environment and extensive men. Food is delicious
Read moreGuest
HappyAussieDylan
Points +464
Great options - Edit
My girlfriend and I visited Melbourne march 2021 and found this little beauty tucked away in a building. Nothing fancy inside (normally a great sign) and the food was great without being mind blowing.
Read moreGot a few things but the vegan duck pancakes and sizzling beef was delicious. From memory pricing was good too. Will be back next time in Melbourne!
Pros: Heaps of options , Noodles were good too
Guest
JoanPrice
Points +62
Scrumptious and varied - Edit
We sampled 6 dishes (appetizers, "snacks," salads, dessert) and all were superb. I can't even tell you what we enjoyed most, because we were exclaiming about all of them. Such a varied menu - we wanted to stay until we got hungry again to try more. We enjoyed Gong De Lin so much that we're returning tomorrow!
Read morePros: Inventive, huge menu , Every dish was distinctive and delicious
Guest
Jopal
Points +15
Large menu - Edit
I stopped in for lunch.
Read moreLarge menu with loads of options. There were many mock meat options, which I don't eat. I prefer beans and lentils but these were few and far between.
Good place to bring someone starting out on a veg eating plan.
Service was friendly and the restaurant was spacious.
The food was OK.
Guest
MarleyTyler
Points +1088
Lots of options - Edit
Came for lunch on a Saturday. Quite busy but plenty of space. Sat in a cosy booth. Greeted with friendly service. Ordered jasmine tea, vegetable pancake, noodles with vegetables and my partner had teppanyaki beef. Not quite what he expected but still tasty. Wanted to order the lychee ice cream but it’s not vegan.
Read moreGuest
EmmaZ
Points +873
Amazing Chinese place in Melbourne - Edit
Such a great place for a casual meal, it’s never a let down! The menu is massive and the food is so good. The sweet and sour pork is to die for.
Read moreBrittnyKsenic
Second this - always AMAZING
Read moreGuest
Happysoiboi
Points +1190
Yummo - Edit
Cute little place with lovely customer service. The chilli dumplings were delish!
Read moreGuest
jess!e97
Points +1854
Yummy dumplings - Edit
This place is such a cozy venue - the focus is really on the food which I love.
Read moreService is great and attentive, although food wait times can be a little long for dumplings (~20mins).
Affordable too!
Guest
YeyintAung
Points +58
Delicious every time! - Edit
Gong De Lin never disappoints. I’ve been there countless times over the years. I’m so happy it endured during the lockdowns. Delicious food, great atmosphere at an affordable price
Read morePros: Delicious food , Great atmosphere , Completely vegan
Guest
dailyy.ivy
Points +17
In love with this place - Edit
The food was really delicious. It’s hard to find a vegan Asian restaurant like this. Cant way to try again.
Read morePros: Wide range of vegan choice, The place is nice, has personal spaces, The food came out pretty quick, no long wait
Cons: Can be pricey, They do not have many staffs
Guest
Ilovemyfood!
Points +460
Huge menu! - Edit
This restaurant was recommended to me so I wanted to try it while I was visiting Melbourne. The menu was huge; appeared to have a very large quantity of mock meat dishes (something I rarely eat).
Read moreThe vegetable spring rolls were nice but the teppanyaki hedgehog mushroom dish was AMAZING (hence the 4 stars) - so hot, spicy and flavoursome! I’d definitely return for the same dish again.
My non vegan friend enjoyed her lamb dish too but I can’t recall the exact dish she had.
The restaurant wasn’t particularly inviting and the staff although present, were inattentive. I feel if the customer service was better we would have definitely had dessert and additional drinks.
Updated from previous review on 2023-03-14
Pros: Huge menu, Delicious teppanyaki hedgehog mushroom dish, Quick food service
Cons: Inattentive staff , No split bills
Guest
leannem
Points +122
can’t wait to go again - Edit
Ate there today, food was really good, can’t wait to go again.
Read morePros: Even meat eating friends loved it
Guest
crediblewitness
Points +1764
Chinese vegan - Edit
central location, great Chinese vegan food.
Read moreGuest
CallumBatchelor
Points +23
Delicious food - Edit
Really great food. Large selection.
Read moreThe chicken was SLIGHTLY over cooked so it went from crispy to crunchy but still delicious. Only reason it's not 5 stars. #Veganuary
Guest
ilikevegg
Points +350
Decent food interesting vibes - Edit
Good place to go when you want a quick and satisfying vegan meal. I do get concerned the elevator is going to break down when I visit. Nonetheless I still go.
Read moreGuest
Summerrrrrrr
Points +36
Yummmmmy - Edit
I tried the sweet and sour pork with rice which was tasty and only$15 😍
Read moreGuest
daniel__ka
Points +1001
Nice Chinese vegan restaurant. - Edit
A nice vegetarian option in Melbourne. Pretty average food and a simple place, but good food, with an Authentic Chinese flavor.
Read moreI see here on Happy Cow that the place is vegetarian but the waiter told us that they are fully vegan.
They have mock meat and mock seafood options and a big variety of veganised Chinese dishes.
The servicie and cleanliness could be improved.
Updated from previous review on 2022-11-30
daniel__ka
Oh, good to know! Thanks for the comment. We were not sure why they were not listed as vegan.
Read moreGuest
Plume5085
Points +800
Vegan pecking duck - Edit
Small cozy place with excellent food, especially dumplings and mock duck.
Read moreGuest
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